From SameSex to Coed: Trinity Female Students Perceptions of Their Transition to College

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From Same-Sex to Coed Trinity Female Students
Perceptions of Their Transition to College

• Joanna Confalone
• 12/12/05
• Trinity College
• Educational Studies 400 Senior Research Project

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Research Question

• How do females of same-sex high schools navigate
  the transition to coeducational environments both
  academically and socially?

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Past Research

• overwhelming evidence that girls were often
  ignored in the classroom and neglected in the
  curriculum. This report brought gender equity to
  the forefront of educational reform (AAUW,
  1998).
• Girls exhibited an eagerness to participate in
  discussions and a willingness to ask for help in
  front of other girls. Girls repeatedly asked the
  teacher questions and used the answers as
  opportunities for group learning (Swain Harvey,
  2002).
• The single-sex educational experience,
  especially during the formative adolescent
  period, appears to enable young women to overcome
  certain social-psychological barriers to their
  academic and professional advancement (Lee
  Marks, 1990).
• The increasing presence of male students was
  associated with an overall decrease in
  professor-initiated interactions,
  student-initiated interactions, and female
  student-initiated follow-up interactions (Canada
  Pringle, 1995).

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Case for Significance

• Help parents decipher whether or not single-sex
  ed. would be beneficial for their daughter
• Social aspect beneficial to psychologists
  studying gender-biased interactions
• Increase in awareness and consciousness
• Should school administrators establish frameworks
  for implementation of curricula fostering same
  ideals?
• Looks at negative aspects to provide reasoning
  for modification or moving away from single-sex
  ed.

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Research Context

• Trinity Colleges campus, Hartford, Connecticut
• An independent, nondenominational, liberal arts
  college
• 2,188 undergraduate students
• 50/50 male to female ratio
• Observations conducted in small seminar classes
• Interviews were conducted in private room of the
  library

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Methods

• Voluntary survey in Psychology 101 and Applied
  Social Psychology.
• Randomly selected 5 students from each class
• Interviewed each of these students 2 times.
• Conducted a total of 20 interviews.

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Methods Breakdown

• Academic
• Selected two students from each class
• Small discussion-based seminars
• Observed 2 times each
• Post-observation and pre-observation interviews
• In total conducted 12 interviews
• (1 preliminary/pre-observation and 2
  post-observation interviews).

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Methods Breakdown

• Social
• Sample questions
• Did females from single-sex schools feel less
  prepared socially for a coeducational
  environment?
• Did they experience anxiety or shyness when in a
  social setting that is predominantly males?
• Interviewed students roommates, mentors, and
  T.A.s
• provided me with an understanding of how they
  perceive the females interact with males outside
  of the classroom.

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Thesis Statement

• Previous educational experience had a significant
  impact on their transition to a coeducational
  environment
• Hyper-awareness of gender-biased stereotypes ?
  heightened class confidence and participation for
  first year students
• Transition to senior year ? less concerned with
  proving equal intelligence levels
• Classroom confidence remained constant
• Class participation dwindled by senior year
• Dissipation of feeling compelled to react against
  gender-biased stereotype
• No significant social anxiety or lack of
  confidence

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Hyper-awareness of gender-biased stereotypes ?
heightened class confidence and participation for
first year students

• Need to be head strong, opinionated, comfortable
  w/ intelligence
• If I have something to say and it goes against
  what a boy is
• saying I am still going to stick to my
  opinions. My teachers
• provided me with an environment that made me
  feel
• comfortable with expressing my opinions, even
  if they were
• not in line with what others thought. I
  definitely think that
• this has carried with me to college, and I have
  no problem
• being known as the opinionated bitch in my
  classes.
• ---Vivian, First-Year

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Engrained with the notion of breaking down
gender-biased stereotypes

• Every week we had women speakers
• that were alums of our school, coming
• in and saying how successful they were
  because they didnt let men hold them
• down and get in the way of what they
• wanted. They told us to be strong females
• and to breakthrough any gender-based
• obstacles. Everywhere I turned there were
• bulletin boards reminding us to be strong,
• opinionated, and proud of our intelligence.
• ---Katie, Senior

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Transition to senior year ? less
concernedwith proving equal intelligence
levelsClassroom confidence remained constant

• I am totally comfortable with my intelligence
  level.
• I dont feel like I Have to prove myself
  anymore by
• constantly raising my hand and speaking up in
  class.
• This doesnt mean Im not as confident, it just
  means
• that Im over the whole man-hater mentality
  that my
• school shoved in my face. Let them answer all
  the
• questions, they are usually wrong anyways!
• ---Paige, Senior

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Class participation dwindled by senior
yearDissipation of feeling compelled to react
against gender-biased stereotypes

• I dont think Im less inclined to talk in
  class
• because i feel nervous or insecure-- but i feel
  guys
• have a tendency to overtake a classroom talk
• much more. I dont need to prove to them that
• Im just as smart. Its not a loss of
  confidence,
• its just that I am not as focused on showing
  the
• boys that I can win a debate or have more
  intelligent
• things to say. Its not a competition anymore
• ---Kiley, Senior

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No significant social anxiety or lack of
confidence

• My brothers always had friends over, and I
  constantly had to defend my opinions in a house
  of boys. I think that this exposure to males
  helped me when I got to college, because I was
  used to having guys around.
• ----Michelle, First-Year

• I definitely dont feel socially
• awkward in front of boys. Even when I was a
  freshman,
• I felt fine. We had socials from, 4-7 on
  Fridays in the seventh and eighth grade. Also,
  we had Barkleys which was ballroom dancing
  class. This was where we met the boys and found
  out who was cool and who wasnt. My group of guy
  friends came
• from these socials.
• ---Katie, Senior

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Conclusions

• Is a single-sex education beneficial to the
  females of our society?
• Should coeducational schools implement these same
  ideals?
• Future research on females carrying these ideals
  into graduate school and their professional lives